


The Father

by SacredPanda



Series: The Hunt [6]
Category: Exalted, Star Wars Legends: Republic Commando Series - Karen Traviss
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 06:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13805250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SacredPanda/pseuds/SacredPanda
Summary: Roxil struggles to earn respect of someone that needed to be important in his new life. He was used to living with people that loved or worshiped him, or both, so this could be difficult. He'll have to be on his best behavior.





	The Father

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just more fluff, I've been really busy getting tests done and whatnot... on the plus side I'm not going to die any time soon most likely so that's cool, doctor says I might be going into remission which would be awesome. I'll have more time coming up after I switch rooms finish this round of treatment.

Jaing had no idea how long he had been staring at the wall. He had never once in his short life had so little on his mind that felt like so much. He tossed the empty casing of a thermal det at the wall, catching it as it bounced back. He tossed it again, this time Ordo caught it looking more than a little concerned.  
“It’s stripped, _ner vod_.”  
“Good. You know, he wasn’t really asking all of us … right? No pressure, _vod_ , but you’re his favorite. So, _vod’ika_ , let’s think this through. Do you love him?”  
“Well, right to it? I… think I might. Don’t give me that look, Ord’ika.” Jaing tapped the arm of his chair impatiently. Ordo was just looking at him, one eyebrow raised in typical ARC fashion. “Look I … he’s a man. I’ve never even considered …”  
“I know.” Ordo always seemed to understand what they were thinking, even if they couldn’t say it. “I’d call him more of a special case. Technically, yes, he’s a man… most of the time. The rest of the time he’s whatever he wants. But _ner vod_ , it isn’t any of those other things you’ve been spending so much time with. You won’t get any judgment from me or the _vode_ , if you’re happy we’re happy. So, do you love him?” Ordo waited, he’d wait all night if he had to.  
“I do.”  
“Do you want to be a father?”  
“I do.” There was no hesitation. “I don’t even know why but…”  
“I know.” Skirata raised them Mandalorian, raising children was a major facet of Mandalorian culture. “Do you doubt Roxil’s ability to be a father… or a mother..” Ordo cleared his throat. “Do you doubt Roxil’s ability to be a good _buir_?”  
“As long as he wasn’t in charge of _education_ , not at all. I know he has experience, and I know he has a lot to give.”  
“Then I think you need to talk to _buir_ , _ner vod_. If you don’t know if you’re ready, he’ll know how to help you find out. Before that, you’re deploying. In this case, maybe I should go in your place?”  
“No, Ord’ika. This is for _us_ , if Roxil actually cares for us he’ll understand I have to go. I’m not letting you all get on with the war while I sit safely getting on with a life and family. We’re all in till we’re all out, that was the deal right? Prudii and Kom’rk have to go out, Mereel has to go back _there_ , this is my part.”  
Jaing agonized over how to bring the subject up to Kal. Their father only ever wanted them to have real lives, but surely he never imagined any of them making that life with another man. He likely also never imagined it being with someone that was actually only a man part of the time. He also certainly would expected them to chose someone a great deal more intelligent, though Jaing thought that was bit unfair, Roxil may not have the book-smarts they did but he still knew quite a bit. Regardless, Kal hadn’t even given Roxil a chance. He needed them to meet, and it would have the most potent effect if he wasn’t there to act as a buffer. What Jaing struggled with is if that would be wise. Both Roxil and Kal had incredibly strong wills, and as a separate note entirely they were both very stubborn. The next thing he’d have to decide is how he’d tell Roxil he was shipping out soon. Roxil had to know it was an eventuality rather than a possibility, but he would probably still be devastated. Well, he would set up a meeting with Kal’buir first, he didn’t want Roxil going into that already in a bad mood.

Kal sighed when the knock on his door finally came. When he opened it, Roxil stood grinning, casually holding a massive jug in one hand.  
“The least atrocious ale I could find.” Roxil said, raising the jug slightly. He waited patiently, his smile never faltering, until Kal gave him permission to enter. “Peace offering?”  
“So we need to make peace, do we?”  
“It seems I may have offended you in some way. I have a great deal of love for your sons, they have a great deal of love for you so you must be an admirable man. I am willing to reduce myself for the moment to earn your respect.”  
“Admirable,” Kal chuckled. “That’s a first. Listen, I don’t need anyone _reducing_ themselves for me. If that’s what you think, you don’t know a thing about me. You want to know why I don’t like you much? You strike me as _ori’buyce kih’kovid_ , you know what that means?”  
“Big helmet… small head? My head is quite normal sized and I have no helmet.” He tapped one of the silver markings on his cheek; Mando’a was far too fluid as a language for his gemstone to translate accurately. He learned much of it through listening to the Nulls. “My armor is _in_ my skin. Anyway, a helmet would be rather uncomfortable with the ears.”  
“All helmet no head. You think too much of yourself. You show up here, out of the blue and spin whatever magic it is you used on my boys-”  
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Roxil changed in an instant. If Kal thought he had mastered the ability to be unthreatening or imposing as needed, Roxil was something else entirely. His voice went low and quiet, more of a near silent growl. “I used no essence on a single one of them. Not once. How _dare_ you even suggest that. I will _not_ be insulted by such disgusting accusations.” Kal seemed genuinely stunned. He was a very brave man, but even he seemed a little frightened. Roxil was slim, but very tall and surprisingly muscular for his frame. He had soft features, one could easily call him pretty. Somehow, he still managed to make himself incredibly imposing even without his war form. It was an edge in his voice, the way he bit back some of his anger, sharp teeth against his lip. The way he narrowed his eyes, his pupils turning to slits. It was the way he bent at the waist to look Kal right in the eyes, their noses nearly touching. At this moment, he was making himself appear every bit the god he claimed to be.  
“I’m sorry,” If Kal was intimidated he didn’t show much. He stood his ground and looked right back at Roxil without blinking. The only indication he was affected at all was in the way he tensed his muscles. “Sometimes I let my mouth run off without me. Can I start over?”  
“Be my guest.” Roxil straightened, but kept his eyes narrowed. His ears were flat back against his head. It seemed he was done playing submissive.  
“ _Mandokar’la_ indeed,” Kal said nearly under his breath. “My boys are my whole world. I’d give every drop of blood to make sure they have good lives. I just want them to be happy, to be fulfilled. Since the day I met those boys I’ve been there for every step of their lives. I’ve seen them through all of it, every laugh and every tear. Now Jaing comes and tells me he’s thinking of having a kid, and I didn’t know he was even seeing anyone. That’s how quick you’ve moved, I didn’t even _know_. I’m not upset with him, but _you_ , _bic ni skana’din_. You know what the _kaminiise_ did to them? They pumped them full of hormones to make them extra loyal. You know what you did when you showed up here with Jatne, when he told them how you saved his life?”  
“What?” Roxil really had no idea.  
“They bond hard and fast, they can’t help it. They see traits they admire, and-”  
“I didn’t know. I swear to you Kal, it was never my intention to use that. I wouldn’t, I’ve never started a relationship with a human with any intent but love…” He suddenly seemed almost panicked. He sat in chair, almost slumped, and pulled a clay mug from his bag. He filled it with his ale and downed it nearly in one gulp. After filling it a second and third time he slid the jug toward Kal. “How can I make this right? How can I know that Jaing cares for _me_ and not for what I did?”  
“Nothing,” Kal sighed and found himself a glass, accepting some of the ale. “You hear of a commando named Fi? My boys don’t get on much with the other clones, but Ordo took a real shine to Fi. The _di’kut_ threw himself on a grenade to save some CSF officers during a siege. My boys, if they don’t like you they know more than a few ways to kill you. Once they _do_ like you, it isn’t something they can just turn off.” They drank in silence for a few moments, Kal refused any more alcohol but Roxil didn’t hold back. He was on his ninth mug by the time either of them spoke again.  
“So…” He didn’t seem to know where to start. “I don’t really know much about you. J’ika says you’re something called a Lunar…?”  
“Yes, I was human once, until I was nearly nineteen years old. Luna chose me as one of her Celestial Exalts, a Steward of Creation. That’s what my world was called, Creation. Around the same time I became aware of my divinity-”  
“Sorry, your what? You think you’re a some kind of god?”  
“A lesser god of course. You must understand, while there may not be gods here, there are many in Creation. When I say many, rivers had gods, forests, cities, regions prominent families, there were gods for everything. They are what allow Creation to function. I was a city god. I presided over a city I founded in my teenage years, Cherochybi.”  
“You founded it?”  
“I told your sons, but I was abandoned by my birth parents and left to die as an infant. Instead I was found and raised as a slave. When I was eight, the owners murdered my new family, burned them all to death. After that I was on my own, I became a thief just to survive. After some years I had gathered many other kids like me. When we had the resources we built up the ruins of an forest temple and invited many other dispossessed citizens to stay as well. From there the little village we made tok off, eventually growing so large it split off into two more villages. After a few hundred years the populations of each had reached numbers over a thousand.”  
“A few hundred years?”  
“Did Jaing not tell you? My five hundred and twenty-seventh birthday should be in just a few weeks. What I’ve always considered my birthday anyway, the woman that acted as my mother believed me to be no more than a few days old when I was brought the farm. It was a few weeks away in Creation at least, our calendar was quite different. Not once, but twice, I was condemned to die as a child. The first time I had Illya to take me as her own. The second time I had no Illya, no Kal Skirata, I was truly alone.” In his five centuries in Creation Roxil had never spoken of his past, he had done so twice now here. His pain was visible. It warmed his heart when Kal picked up the jug and filled both their glasses.  
“It takes _gett’se_ to survive on your own as a lad. From the sounds of it, more so where you’re from.” He seemed to have surprised Roxil. “I spent a great deal of time talking to Jatne. He had known me all his life, but he was entirely new to me. I wanted to know my son. He told me a lot about Creation, and a lot about what you called the Wyld. I struggled to believe his stories at first, I still don’t understand this ‘Bear Blasting’ game he enjoyed spectating so much. Is it true that the bear was a person?”  
“Maaki!” Roxil laughed. “She was my mentor’s best friend for thousands of years. They were rarely awake at the same time, they alternated one sleeping for two hundred years while the ruled over Shishimissi. Her Lunar spirit shape was a bear and quite resilient.”  
“What exactly were the rules?”  
“Arbitrary goals were set and we had to get the bear into them without physically touching it. We could use any essence abilities, and fire cannons if we could get our hands on one, but the team the got the bear to their goal first won. Maaki was much more fun than Tawasu. I really liked Maaki, shame she was only around for 200 years at a time. Tawasu was my mentor, it was Maaki that tattooed me, Tawasu was always too serious and was really mean to me.”  
Jaing waited at the barracks until long after he expected Roxil back. He, Prudii, and Mereel agreed that they should go retrieve him. They really didn’t know what to expect when they got there but they definitely didn’t think they’d discover Kal and Roxil laughing together over one Kal’s bottles of _tihaar_.  
“It really took all of them to stop you?” Kal had his hand on Roxil’s shoulder.  
“That’s what they told me, I don’t really remember it… I was being a little _extra_ Lunar-y at the time. If I were them I probably wouldn’t have told me, that’s got to be pretty embarrassing for a group of _almighty Solars_.” Roxil’s grin was absolutely wicked. “I understand completely why both Tawasu and Maaki hated Solars. They have more reason given they’re two of only a few left from the First Age. They’ve seen all the insanity of the Solars. Have I told you about the time I hunted the ten meter flaming lizard made of diamond yet? If you don’t believe me, is there somewhere with at least ten meters of headspace around?”  
“ _Me’ven_?” Jaing stood by the door with his eyebrow raised but a smile on his face. “So you’re getting along now?”  
“Your _buir_ is a brilliant man, J’ika! _Ori’mirdala_!”  
“From one _buir_ to another, you’re not as bad as I thought either. Still dumb as a rock, but a good man.”


End file.
